Retrospective of Akrolesta.

Russian expatriate opens exhibition in Ukmerge

Exhibition of Akrolesta ''Retrospective. Selected'' opened in Ukmerge. It presents Akrolesta's works from various collections, created over the past five years. It is the sixth Akrolesta's personal exhibition this year.

This spring she presented her SmartArt collection in Kaunas, in the summer the RelaxArt collection in the Sejm of the Republic of Lithuania, and in the fall in Ukmergė three more small exhibitions were held contemporaneously: Moterų pasaulis (in the Art-garage “Būk alternatyva”), Be rėmelių (in the Akrolesta's gallery) and Ironiška duoklė (in the GastroPub "Aš būsiu čia").

The exhibition presents a variety of works by Akrolesta. As well as classical canvases, there are paintings on stone, sculptures, ready-made, conceptual works, cartoons, graphics, book illustrations, as well as works from the Objects series.

Akrolesta's paintings are represented by landscapes, portraits and animals from the RelaxArt collection, including four works that have visited the Sejm exhibition: Orangeland, Cat, Nautical lace and Night. In addition, the exhibition presents surreal canvases from the CityArt collection (Moscow, Peter, New York), abstract paintings from the LightArt collection (Doors of the Mind and the Ghost of the Landscape), symbolic philosophical geometric abstractions (Ordinary - Talent— Genius and Optimist - Artist- Pessimist).

The ability to create new symbols, use and transform familiar ones is the strong point of Akrolesta's work. This is especially clearly seen in the works from the intellectually saturated SmartArt collection and the ironic JazzArt, as well as in the caricatures from the Small Stories collection.

SmartArt should be especially highlighted. The paintings of this collection balance on the edge of painting and posters: Life on Earth, She can explode, Pregnancy, Behind Bars, Family portrait in front of the TV, Shining, In search of happiness, Crowd, Way, etc.

It is necessary to mention the JazzArt collection, which is an homage to great artists.The exhibition presents humorous dedications to the work of SalvadorDali, Marcel Duchamp, Wassily Kandinsky and Kazemir Malevich.

If SmartArt is intellectual pictures that respond to modern problems of security, ecology, tolerance, self-determination, immigration, philistine psychology, relationships and women, then JazzArt is an irony, an artistic joke. Except, of course, the Portrait of the XX century, homage to Edvard Munch. That is why this painting is included in the JazzArt, and in terms of meaning in the collection SmartArt, along with the canvases Worried Pacific, Colander and Aliens, also presented at the exhibition.

The JazzArt collection is supplemented by graphic Art Riddles. The works of famous masters are depicted in the form of several strokes and resemble hieroglyphs. Visitors can challenge themselves and try to guess the painting and the master by just a few strokes. The exhibition presents a desktop interactive version of riddles.

The Auction of Contemporary Art, which is both an ironic homage to Andy Warhol and a sarcastic statement about the contemporary art market, sums up the excursion into the history of fine art.

Exhibition “Retrospective. Selected”presents different aspects of Akrolesta's work, including books, miniatures, pseudo-hieroglyphs, including the work Loneliness, which was exhibited in Kaunas in spring.

Despite the fact that the exhibition features more than 80 works of the talented artist, the gallery space could not fully accommodate any of her collections created over the past five years. Nevertheless, the works presented demonstrate Akrolesta's unique skill, her ability to work in a variety of techniques and styles on different materials. As a result, there is a feeling that the exhibition “Retrospective. Selected ” presents the works of not one artist, but at least a dozen creators.

Kasparas Urbonaitis, DELFI, October 18, 2021